Kasich’s a moderate campaign shifts into high gear

In the wake the defeat of SB5 and continued bad polling (the latest poll shows 56 percent of Ohio voters disapprove of his job as Governor), he’s spent the majority of this year trying to convince folks that he’s not such a bad guy.

The latest version of this are his recent claims of bipartisanship. Kasich made a rare speech on the floor of the Ohio Senate yesterday, thanking legislators of both parties for voting for bills he had backed.

But that’s not bipartisanship.

Being bipartisan means being willing to sit down with members of the opposite party, share ideas and reach middle ground. To Kasich it means putting your position out there and hoping some Democrats want the same thing and end up voting for it. There are no meetings, no outreach, no collaboration.

There may be awkward hugs.

And now Senate Republicans are playing along:

And Kasich jumped in, as scripted:

Remember, these are the guys that brought you SB5, gerrymandered Congressional maps and a voter suppression bill they only rescinded in the face of a November ballot initiative. They are not bipartisan.

Which is why we were pleased that Senate Democrats called B.S. on this whole claim of “bipartisanship”. Here’s the rebuttal from Senate Democratic Leader Eric Kearney:

“Where was the Republicans’ so-called ‘bipartisanship’ when they passed Senate Bill 5 without a single Democratic vote? Thankfully 62% of Ohioans rejected the GOP’s unwarranted attack on collective bargaining rights.

“To set the record straight, Senate Democrats have introduced 156 bills in this General Assembly, but only 14 percent have passed the Senate. Half of the bills that did pass were jointly sponsored with Republican members and five bills dealt with one issue—pension reform.”

“Senate Democrats also offered more than 700 amendments to protect Ohio’s schools and communities from Governor Kasich’s devastating budget cuts. Not a single amendment was accepted by the Republican majority. That is not bipartisanship by any definition.”

As much as the Governor’s going to want to continue this “I’m bipartisan” shtick, it’s going to be tough to juggle with his efforts to bash the President on a regular basis.

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Though I have a burning hatred for the Republican agenda (not just as a teacher and union member but as a citizen concerned with equality, fairness, and democracy) I am very frustrated at Democrats that are acting in support of some of the Republican agenda items. Senator Turner’s work with the Cleveland plan is particularly bothersome. It seems the Democrats, as a party have become Republicans by another name particularly at the national level. Considering Obama’s lack of interest in Ohio’s Issue 2 fight (having been in the state when his base voters where rallying outside the State House and not lending support) and his continued lack of support during the recent Wisconsin recall I think he will lose votes from the Democrats and Independents he needs to win just on ideological grounds. (I’m also tired of hearing about his celebrity supporters. He’s alienating the people he needs to win). As rep for AFL-CIO I have seen a troubling amount of Democrats, endorsed by Labor, take the vote and then walk away from labor/middle class responsibilities. The exceptions in my area are Representatives Ramos and Lundy. Fine gentlemen and strong labor/teacher advocates in Columbus

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Here’s one possible explanation (it’s not a defense and it’s not true in all cases). When you have uncompetitively-drawn districts, in some cases you need to be a pretty right-leaning Democrat to have a hope of being elected. And in others, you get totally safe seats where the person can get away with not doing their homework. And when you see dozens of bills pass in a single week, there’s a chance some legislators haven’t actually read them all.

In my opinion, bad legislation and bad legislators beg for a new process for drawing districts. (insert gratuitous plug for votersfirstohio.com)